What was I thinking?

Tweet

Pandora current song: She Will Be Loved by Maroon 5

In my summer blogs, I mentioned I was pursuing a job as a recruiter for Washington State University. I was trying to find something I could hold on to. Something solid. My life is ever consumed with uncertainty. I’ve been blessed with a life full experiences I’ve either forced on myself or have been lucky to be a part of. Yet, there’s still something missing. The satisfaction of accomplishing something, whether for a greater good or for those that need a push to start their own adventure, doesn’t ever seem to ever be completely fulfilled. Is it because I’m alone and don’t have someone to share it with? Maybe. Is it the fact that I am unsure of my future? Absolutely. Or what about the instability of the present? Sure. How about all of the above, plus trying to put a smile on my face so I can create and explore new opportunities for my students so they can get the most out of their college year? Shall I keep going?

Higher education empowers effective leadership

Tweet

Pandora current song: Kryptonite, by 3 Doors Down

Higher education is the major developer of leaders in today’s society. Legacies are what people strive for acting as change-agents of his/her college campus as well as later in life. Social change will not happen without people striving to make a difference. One person can shock the status quo, but a group can blast through barriers while cultivating a quality environment and encouraging each other. Leadership is rooted in virtually any individual. It may take encouragement or opportunity, but I promise the “leader” bud is waiting to bloom if you let it. Leadership holds the key to transforming any project, student, campus, and community, and ultimately the world.

Effective leadership is an essential ingredient of positive social change. But what is the extent of effective leadership? Effective leadership can be defined as leadership that effects change. Duh, right? Some changes are for the better and some are not. People could argue that Hitler was a great leader as he rose to the top and got Germany to rally with him and his beliefs and they followed. After he knew he had control, he used it for destruction and we all know where that led. He caused change in thought and actions. An effective leader is one who people trust, hopefully for the betterment of the whole, who set goals and utilizes the group to achieve them.

Life Revolving Around Rumors

Tweet

Pandora current song: How to Save a Life, by The Fray

Rumors are a dirty game. Rumors can lie, cheat and steal someone’s life and those who start them, lose out too. Sometimes they’re based on stereotype and then stories just seem to flourish. Even stereotypes are a bad way to think you “know” someone. Granted we all use them on a daily basis, otherwise it would take too long to understand every miniscule piece of information that’s passed through our eyes to our brains. But rumors have an even worse connotation.

I’m sure rumors have been started about you, so how’d you feel? Like scum on the bottom of a sink drain, right? So why do people find joy in passing rumors. Sometimes it’s due to jealous feelings regarding something they don’t have or something they wish they didn’t. Sometimes it’s due to overcompensating a true story. However it starts, it’s gossip that’s usually a mixture of truth and untruth. Most people don’t take the time to figure out what’s true or not and just believe it all as fact.

The Difficult Lesson of Learning to Accept Differences

Tweet

Pandora current song: Variations, by David Nevue

Opposites tend to fascinate us because they add variety to life and pull us from our comfortable rut of familiarity. Opposites stretch us beyond ourselves, forcing us to broaden our horizons and provide opportunities for growth. It’s from them that we learn our most difficult lessons. They expose us to thoughts, feelings, and experiences that are foreign to us. So why don't we accept people who are "different" from us more often?

I once had a student who asked me why he did things so differently. “Will things fall slowly into place and make me the best man I can be for I have not been influenced by the words and actions of others who are unaware that they may be living the standard prepackaged life that has been put upon by them by some influence? Or am I stubborn, stupid and blind for that is how life is suppose to be lived and happiness can only be achieved not by dreaming but by doing what we should do and not what we were born to do?”